This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. 2002-5583, filed Jan. 31, 2002, in the Korean Intellectual Property Patent Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a cooling and heating apparatus using a thermoelectric module, and more particularly to a cooling and heating apparatus using the thermoelectric module, in which the thermoelectric module, a heat emitting member and a heat conducting block are integrated into a single unit, so that the thermoelectric module can be easily assembled with other component parts while being sealed up, thereby improving the performance and durability of the thermoelectric module.
2. Description of the Related Art
A thermoelectric module is a device that is constructed by combining two dissimilar metals together or joining an n-type semiconductor and a p-type semiconductor together. A thermoelectric module has characteristics that when current is applied thereto, heat absorbing and heat emitting actions occur on opposite surfaces of the two dissimilar metals or n-type and p-type semi-conductors, respectively. As a result, if a heat exchanger is installed in the heat absorbing side of the thermoelectric module, surroundings corresponding to the heat absorbing side of the thermoelectric module can be cooled. In contrast, when a heat exchanger is installed in the heat emitting side of the thermoelectric module, surroundings corresponding to the heat emitting side of the thermoelectric module can be heated.
Cooling technology using a thermoelectric module can prevent environmental disruption by the leakage of refrigerant gas such as Freon gas because surroundings can be cooled without the use of refrigerant gas, which is generally used in a refrigeration cycle, and can eliminate operational noise because a driving device such as a compressor used to compress refrigerant gas is not necessary. Further, the size of the thermoelectric module is relatively small, so that the installation of the thermoelectric module is easy and a product using the thermoelectric module can be of a compact construction.
In general, where a temperature around the heat emitting side of a thermoelectric module is approximately 30xc2x0 C., the temperature around the heat absorbing side thereof can be maintained at a temperature of approximately 3xc2x0 C. If the temperature around the heat emitting side of the thermoelectric module is decreased, the temperature around the heat absorbing side thereof can be lowered. Accordingly, if the size of current supplied to the thermoelectric module and the supply time of the current are controlled with the heat absorbing side of the thermoelectric module disposed inside of a storage space and the heat emitting side thereof disposed outside of the storage space, the storage space can be refrigerated or cooled, thereby allowing the thermoelectric module to be used in conjunction with a small-sized refrigerator, a kimchi refrigerator, and a medical thermostat.
However, if the heat emitting side of the thermoelectric module is disposed inside of a storage space and the heat absorbing side thereof is disposed outside of the storage space, the temperature of the storage space can be increased, thereby allowing the thermoelectric module to be used in conjunction with a product such as a heating cabinet or heating apparatus.
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section of a conventional cooling and heating apparatus using a thermoelectric module. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional cooling and heating apparatus using a thermoelectric module comprises a thermoelectric module 11 and a heat conducting block 12 disposed in a partition wall 3 that separates a cooling space 1 and a heating space 2 from each other, a heat absorbing member 13 disposed in the cooling space 1 to absorb heat from surroundings of the cooling space 1 and cool the surroundings of the cooling space 1, and a heat emitting member 14 disposed in the heating space 2 to emit heat to surroundings of the heating space 2 and heat the surroundings of the heating space 2.
A thin aluminum plate 15 is positioned between the thermoelectric module 11 and the heat emitting element 14 to allow the heat emitting member 14 to be assembled to the thermoelectric module 11. A thermal conductive adhesive adheres opposite surfaces of the aluminum plate 15 to the thermoelectric module 11 and the heating emitting member 14, respectively.
Further, thermally conductive adhesives 16 are applied between the thermoelectric module 11 and the heat conducting block 12 and between the heat conducting block 12 and the heat absorbing member 13. The heat absorbing member 13 is fixedly attached to the heat conducting block 12 by a plurality of screws 17, while the heat emitting member 14 is fixedly attached to the partition wall 3 by a plurality of screws 18.
A pair of electric wires 19 is connected to an upper end and a lower end of the thermoelectric module 11 to apply current to the thermoelectric module 11.
However, the conventional cooling and heating apparatus using the thermoelectric module constructed as described above is disadvantageous in that thermally conductive adhesives of thermosetting material are applied between the thermoelectric module and the heat conducting block and between the heat absorbing member and the heat emitting member. Consequently, an excessively long assembly time is required because several heat treatment processes are necessary and the thermally conductive adhesives are applied by hand, and products of uniform quality cannot be manufactured because cooling and heating characteristics vary according to the quantity of the thermally conductive adhesive.
Further, the conventional thermoelectric module is positioned in the partition wall without a sealing means and a considerable temperature difference between opposing surfaces of the thermoelectric module is generated while the thermoelectric module is being operated, thus moisture is condensed from the air around the conventional thermoelectric module The moisture reacts with the conventional thermoelectric module, thus causing a problem that the moisture corrodes the conventional thermoelectric module. Also, moisture infiltrates the thermoelectric module through the pair of electric wires, so corrosion of the conventional thermoelectric module is intensified.
As a result, the performance of the thermoelectric module is decreased and the life span thereof is reduced, thus reducing the reliability of the conventional thermoelectric module.
In addition, the conventional cooling and heating apparatus using the thermoelectric module has a construction in which the thermoelectric module is installed through the partition wall with the thermoelectric module attached to the thin aluminum plate and the heat emitting member is assembled to the aluminum plate by screws, so that integration of the component parts into a single unit is difficult and, accordingly, torques are not uniformly exerted on the screws during the assembly of the components parts, thus causing the cooling and heating performances of the apparatus to be non-uniform.
Furthermore, the thermal resistivity of the conventional cooling and heating apparatus is increased by the above-mentioned structure of the conventional cooling and heating apparatus, so heat generated from the thermoelectric module is not smoothly transferred to the heat emitting member, thus deteriorating the performance of the conventional cooling and heating apparatus.
Accordingly, a cooling and heating apparatus a thermoelectric module, which] is manufactured with a thermoelectric module, a heat emitting member and a heat conducting block integrated into a single unit, thereby improving the assemblibility, durability and cooling and heating performances thereof.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a cooling and heating apparatus using a thermoelectric module, in which the thermoelectric module of the cooling and heating apparatus is completely sealed off from the outside air.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a cooling and heating apparatus using a thermoelectric module, which has a construction to allow thermal resistivity of the apparatus to be minimized.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.
In order to accomplish the above and other objects, the present invention provides a cooling and heating apparatus, comprising a thermoelectric module, a heat emitting member attached to a first surface of the thermoelectric module, a heat conducting block attached to a second surface of the thermoelectric module, a heat absorbing member attached to the heat conducting block, and a cover integrating the thermoelectric module and the heat conducting block into a single unit by fixedly covering side surfaces of the thermoelectric module and the heat conducting block and a part of an inner surface of the heat emitting member.
Each pair of the thermoelectric module and the heat conducting block, the thermoelectric module and the heat emitting member, and the heat conducting block and the heat absorbing member may adhere to each other by a thermally conductive adhesive.
The cooling and heating apparatus may further comprise a first sealing material disposed between the cover and side surfaces of the heat conducting block and a second sealing member disposed between the cover and an inner surface of the heat emitting member, so as to seal off the thermoelectric module from outside air.
The first and second sealing materials may be epoxy resins.
The heat conducting block may be provided along side surfaces of the heat conducting block with an interlocking step and an interlocking groove and the cover is provided at a front end of the cover with an interlocking projection, so that the interlocking projection of the cover is interlocked with the interlocking step of the heat conducting block and the interlocking step and the interlocking groove of the heat conducting block are covered with the first sealing material.
The cover is provided at a rear end of the cover with a flange portion outwardly extended, a pair of ribs are formed on each section of a surface of the flange portion, and the cover is attached to the heat emitting member by bolts with each of the bolts being inserted between ones of each pair of ribs, respectively.
The cooling and heating apparatus may further comprise a pair of electric wires connected to the thermoelectric module, wherein the electric wires are embedded in the second sealing material between the cover and the heat emitting member with coatings removed from the pair of the electric wires.